by Miriam Ellis

Muckraking isn't the prettiest word in the English language, but the work of its best-known proponents has led to some of America's most important political, social and legal reforms. Gritty individuals like Ida Tarbell, Ray Stannard Baker and Upton Sinclair put their reputations, even their lives, on the line to shed light on scenarios of corruption, abuse and inequality.

Isn't it interesting to consider what these individuals might have done had they lived in the days of the hyperlocal blog? In the past, muckrakers frequently had to hammer their stories through the tough and narrow mediums of the mainstream press or publishing houses. Today, someone like you can tell the truth that you know, with the click of a button. The hyperlocal blog presents a unique opportunity to highlight serious local concerns, but what place does muckraking have in this new world? Is it a good idea or not?

On his own hyperlocal blog, Matt McGee has just published a series of smart tips he gave to one of the people whose work I respect most in the small business world: Anita Campbell of SmallBizTrends.com, for a webinar. Matt and Anita suggest that hyperlocal blogs which have been created to increase customer loyalty should avoid controversy:

All this talk about being a community resource is fine and good, but it's still a business blog that you're running. You don't have to blog about everything going on in town and risk alienating potential customers. I'd avoid politics on a hyperlocal business blog. I'd avoid being too critical of local groups, organizations, other businesses, and really just about anyone. You don't have to be the town's cheerleader who presents everything as Super-Duper Awesome, but you should skip the controversial stuff if you're trying to build loyal local customers.

I'm pretty much of the same mind with Matt and Anita on this (in fact, I gave similar advice in a series of posts I wrote on Hyperlocal Blogging back in 2008). If your hyperlocal blog is part of your presence as the local barber, restaurant owner or psychotherapist, it probably won't be 'good for business' to use this vehicle as your opportunity to call out the mayor for shoplifting at the local liquor store, right? The potential outcomes of doing so demand that I quote Mark Twain:

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.

Yes, using your hyperlocal business blog might create a hot time in the old town tonight for awhile, generating buzz and links, but when the people you might expose come back with blistering accusations about you and your activities, you might just wind up out of business